


The Stems of Flowers

by AbstracttReality (orphan_account)



Category: Mianite - Fandom, Oxenfree (Video Game), captainsparklez - Fandom
Genre: Gen, I wrote a Mianite x Oxenfree crossover, because I love both of these things so why not, but we do get to see the five champions together, i don't have a set word count for you but it's gonna be 20K+, maybe closer to 50k whoops, spooky fic time, we get almost no mentions of the gods, which doesn't really happen ever
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:00:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27351598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/AbstracttReality
Summary: Jordan & Tom bring Tom's new stepbrother, Karl, to their town's yearly beach bash on Edwards Island. The party turns out to be a dud, as the only other people that show up are Tom's friends Tucker and Sonja. Desperate to create some excitement of their own, Tom and Jordan go exploring in a nearby cave, and wake a giant they didn't even know existed. The gang has to band together, despite their many differences, and try to make off the island without getting killed, or you know, accidentally sacrificing their friends to an unseen force.Based on Night School Studio's: Oxenfree
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	1. The Set Up of Our Props

_Drip, drip, drip._

The echo of water bounces off the walls of the cave. A dark mold grows over the handles of an old wardrobe. The small piles of rocks scattered across the island begin to vibrate. The abundance of graffiti hidden on the walls comes to light. A door closes, locked shut by a sudden gust of wind that seals it for now. But not forever.

A soft blue light begins to emanate. The perfect gift of enticement. A car door is locked. The shops are sealed. A ball bounces. The wind picks up and the leaves begin to shake. If you were standing beneath them, you would think the wind was moaning. But no one is here, so no one can think that.

The stage is set now.

The sun is still high in the sky. There is no time to waste. Everything will be right, and it will be right soon. 

What is it that they used to say? Ah, that’s right. “...soon I shall be so I cannot remember any but the things that never happened.” 

The lights flick on. The curtain sways in anticipation. It is almost time. 

A ferry horn blows. 

_Drip._

A slow tune begins to play. It cuts out suddenly. They’re saving that one for later. Just wait a little while and you’ll see it. 

A radio clicks on softly. If you weren’t here to listen for it, you wouldn’t have heard it. And no one is here, so no one hears it. 

There is a soft, metallic patter that flows from the speakers like honey on a warm summer day. It stops abruptly. Enough of that, it has decided. Static begins to heighten, the volume increases. It’s a bit much, but no one is here to protest.

“ _We… are… ready…_ ” The voice, or, the voices, are different people from various radio stations. They are all nameless. Lost in the ocean of time. They are not important any longer. But the forces they belong to, they are more than important. They are gods.

“ _Olly… Olly… Oxen… Free._ ”

The curtain lifts. And so the show begins.


	2. One

The ferry horn blared. The lights in the cabin click on softly, illuminating the small space with a bright, white light. Jordan blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the brightness of the lights. He tugged the sleeves of his jacket over his hands and fiddled with the zipper, pulling it up to his neck. He knew that it would get cold on Edwards Island, but he wasn’t sure how cold. 

With a sigh, Jordan made his way to the railing of the ferry, staring down at the waves beneath him. The ocean sprays his face with a fine mist as a greeting. He readjusts his beanie on his head and squints at the water. Stupid ocean. Jordan makes a face at the water, as if it can see him, but draws back in surprise when a shadow darts through the water, rippling the surface where his face had been.

Jordan glanced up at the sun. It wasn’t dark enough for him to be seeing things, and he was sure that this wasn’t going to be one of those trips, but he could have sworn that whatever was beneath the waves was not a fish. Of course, there were sharks around Edwards Island. It was a speck in the middle of the ocean. As far as he knew, none of the other kids had ever run into anything dangerous before. Sharks counted as dangerous in Jordan’s book. 

“Jordan?” Tom’s voice yanked him from his thoughts. He pulled his eyes away from the water, ignoring the salty tug that he felt towards the dark water. “Earth to Jordan. You still awake over there?”

“Yeah,” Jordan cleared his throat, shaking his head. A flush crept up his cheeks, and he pulled off his jacket, tying it around his waist. It wasn’t supposed to be that cold, he told himself. A slight chill was nothing.

“Sorry,” Jordan mumbled. “My mind just wandered a bit, I guess.”

Tom’s new stepbrother Karl, the only reason they were on a ferry to Edwards Island, gave him an odd look before smiling softly. Jordan realized with a start that he didn’t know anything about the boy, aside from what little Tom had told him.

“So, are you all moved in?” Jordan asked. He sounded apathetic. He frowned slightly and rolled his shoulders. He didn’t mean to sound apathetic. He was anything but that. Tom gave him a weird look.

“Nah,” Karl shook his head. “I just got into town last night. I had school and whatnot, and the timing didn’t really line up until this weekend.”

“Gotcha,” Jordan nodded, trying to seem interested. “So Tom’s idea of showing you around town was bringing you to the yearly bash on Edwards Island?” 

“Come on,” Tom rolled his eyes. “It seems like fun! We’ve always wanted to go!” 

“You’ve always wanted to go,” Jordan corrected. “I just get dragged along for the ride.” Karl laughed lightly as if he knew what that felt like. He might have, Jordan realized. He didn’t know much about Karl, so he couldn’t say. 

“That’s not true! You told me that you’d go to formal this year!” Tom exclaimed.

“If you found me a date,” Jordan hummed.

“What, and Samuel James, literally the hottest boy at school, wasn’t good enough for you?”

“You didn’t find me a date,” Jordan shrugged nonchalantly. Tom groaned at him.

“You’re insufferable,” Tom smacked his forehead. “When we get home tomorrow, I’ll call him. Tell him to plan this whole fancy event and corner you in the parking lot with such a grand audience that you can’t say no to him.”

“How’d your parents meet?” Jordan gave Tom a dubious look from the corner of his eye and turned his attention to Karl. When Sam had asked him to formal, he was surprised it wasn’t a whole spectacle. Aside from the fact that formal wasn’t until December, and it was only the beginning of September, Sam’s question had been relatively casual. He had just appeared at Jordan’s locker one day and asked. Just like that. Jordan wasn’t surprised that Tom wanted to one-up the proposal by doing it his way.

“Like, my biological parents? Or my mom and Tom’s dad?”

“The second one,” Jordan clarified. Tom huffed a breath and hit Jordan’s shoulder playfully. That was his way of saying You’re on, sucker.

“It’s a long story,” Karl sighed. “They were on vacation in Orlando and-you know what? I’ve told this story to too many people this week. It’s dumb, and you don’t need to hear it.”

“Okay,” Jordan laughed. He tapped the rim of his shoe against the railing of the deck. The sun was setting fast, he noticed, which was impressive for eight at night during the summer. He could see the lights of Edwards Island approaching faster than he wanted them to, and he wondered how many of them belonged to their classmates.

“So what’s the deal with this place?” Karl asked. Jordan gave him a surprised look. 

“Tom didn’t tell you?” He asked.

“Nope,” Karl shrugged. “He told me it was better if I went into it blind.” Jordan rolled his eyes. Of course, Tom would say that. He let out a little laugh and leaned his shoulders on the rails.

“Okay,” Tom started, rubbing his hands together. “It used to be a military base. Well, I think it used to be a ranching thing, actually. Then it was an army thing, then it was some kind of bird place? An aviary, or whatever they’re called. Then it became a museum. Some big name people were stationed here for a bit, too. I think Henry Fonda was stationed here, actually. Unless he was in the Navy. That’s an entirely different thing, though.”

Tom cleared his throat and glanced at the island before them. He pulled his coat tighter around his waist in excitement.

“The point is, the junior class of-”

“Passengers,” A tinny voice shot through the speakers, drawing their attention. “We’ll be arriving soon. Please check underneath your seats to ensure that you have all of your belongings.”

“We should get a quick picture,” Tom suggested, half-listening to the pre-recorded message.

“Why?” Jordan asked. “We’re not doing anything wild. It’s just a party.”

“True,” Tom shrugged. “But it’ll be something to remember.” He raised his eyebrows at Jordan and pulled out his phone.

“Fine,” Jordan said. “Let’s just do it before it gets too dark.”

“Alright, Mr. Edgy man, we’ll make it fast.” Tom made his way to the front of the ship, waving Karl over. Jordan followed them, and they all squished their faces together, pulling stupidly cheesy smiles before Tom took the picture.

“There,” Tom patted his phone in his pocket. “I’ll photoshop the gunk out of your teeth for you, Jordy.” He joked. Jordan gave a light laugh and glanced at the island. The ferry had started slowing down, and they were getting closer to the dock.

“Hey, Jordan, was it?” Karl called out to him. Jordan nodded, still staring at the island. It seemed strange to him that he couldn’t see anyone else. Maybe they were already on the beach, he thought. That was very possible. 

“Did you bring the radio?” Karl asked. That got Jordan’s attention. His gaze went to Tom, who had a devilish smile on his face. “Tom told me that it’s supposed to do something?”

“Other than its intended purpose, I’ve got nothing.” Jordan shrugged, but he pulled the little radio out of the pocket of his hoodie. Tom had pestered him endlessly about making sure he changed the batteries in it before they left, telling him that they would need a fully functional radio to get through the night. 

“Oh, just you wait,” Tom wagged his finger at them. “It does something else, that much I do know. But actually, our high school has a radio station, and our friend Dec is filling in for one of his other friends for the evening. Confusing, I know. Anyways, I told him to give us a shout out since he couldn’t make it tonight.”

“What’s the station?” Jordan asked, flicking a button to turn the device on.

“88.3 I think,” Tom said. He dug through his pockets, telling them that he had it written down on a piece of paper somewhere. “I must’ve left it at home.” He grumbled. 

Jordan twisted the knob on the radio slowly, reading the numbers as they changed before his face. 86.5, 87.3, 88.1, 88.3. He turned a dial on the side of the radio, increasing the volume.

“There he is!” Tom shouted, clapping Jordan and Karl on the shoulder. “My man!”

“Aside from that-oh wait, hold on. It’s just past ten, which means my friend’s are probably just touching down on Edwards Island for the yearly beach bash!”

“Ten?” Jordan asked. Last he had looked at his watch, it was only eight. Tom shushed him and took the radio from Jordan to turn it up. Jordan checked his watch again. It was indeed, after ten. Karl gave him a sympathetic glance, and he shook it off. He wasn’t going crazy, he knew. Maybe two hours had passed since he had gotten on the ferry. Maybe he had spent two hours staring at the strange shape in the water, and he just hadn’t realized it. 

“That’s sick, dude,” Tom said. “Radio reception is really spotty out here, so I don’t think we’ll be able to hear much else from him.” He handed the radio back to Jordan just as the ferry horn blared a second time. The sound sent Jordan for a loop. For whatever reason, the horn triggered Jordan’s fight or flight reflex, and he could feel his heartbeat increase. 

“We must be getting close,” Tom rubbed his hands together again and laughed. He was way too excited about being on Edwards Island. He had been looking forward to the Junior class party for years.

“Wait,” Karl held out his hands. “If the radio won’t work on the island, then why’d you bring it?” Tom let out an excited giggle and handed the radio back to Jordan for safe-keeping. 

“You’ll see,” Tom told him. “Don’t expect too much. It’s not great, but it’ll be fun. I’m making it seem like more than it is.”

“He does that a lot,” Jordan half-whispered playfully. Tom batted at his arm and squawked in protest. 

“I’m sure it’ll be fun,” Jordan told him, gripping the railing as the ferry horn blared again. The boat came to a jolting stop that sent Tom and Karl staggering around on the deck for a brief second. Jordan regained his senses and shook his head.

“Let’s get off this stupid thing,” Tom declared. “It’s time for the real fun to begin.”

The captain of the ferry, apparently the only other person onboard, swung a door open and let the three of them hop straight off the ferry and onto the dock. He turned away without another word, apparently eager to get back to his station. Jordan gave him a strange look and went to catch up with Tom and Karl, who were already admiring the island.

Tom inhaled a breath of salty air and exhaled slowly. He had always loved being outside the city. It made him feel at ease. 

“You gotta love the fresh, crisp air of the wild,” He sighed softly, as if reluctant to let the breath leave his lungs.

“Yeah,” Karl said, lost in thought. “It’s nice. Hey Jordan? Do you mind if I take a moment to talk to Tom?”

“Oh,” Jordan cleared his throat. “Yeah, no, of course. Go for it. Our other friends should be right around the corner. I’ll go catch up with them, I guess.”

“It’ll take two minutes, I swear. Thanks.”

“Yeah, no problem.” Jordan shrugged. It was a strange way for them to start the evening, he thought. Then again, it wasn’t evening, and their night had started on the ferry. They just hadn’t realized it yet.

Jordan had no clue where he was going. This was supposed to be Tom’s night. He was just here for the ride, the fun time. Everything he did with Tom was fun, in one way or another. Sometimes it was wanted, sometimes it wasn’t. Every day with him was an adventure, but they were basically brothers, and Jordan loved him, though he’d never admit it. 

He trudged up a dirt path that took him past a little cluster of shops and a small parking lot with a car in it. That was odd, Jordan had thought. He laughed at himself when he thought it. That was the only thing that had crossed his mind since they had gotten on the ferry. What made this more confusing than any other ‘odd’ thing Jordan had experienced was that the car in the lot wasn’t dusty. It didn’t look old, or out of use. When he touched his hand to it, the metal beneath his skin was warm, as if it had just been in the sun. Maybe he was going crazy.

Jordan continued up the path, following its twists and turns until he got to the top of the hill he was climbing. The area was fenced in, and he thought maybe he had turned in the wrong direction. He was fairly certain that he hadn’t, but he couldn’t be too sure of anything anymore. 

Jordan pulled his phone out of his pocket, frowning when he noticed he had no service. He couldn’t text Tom, then. He’d just have to wait and see if he had gone the wrong way. Jordan leaned his back against a metal pole that held a section of the fence up and waited. 

The night held a slight chill, but it wasn’t anything too uncomfortable. His half-sleeved shirt was more than enough to keep him warm. He shouldn’t even have brought a jacket, he thought. A few minutes passed, and Jordan heard Tom’s voice echo off the rocks beneath him. So he had gone to the right place, then. 

Shortly after that, their faces appeared at the top of the hill. Tom put his hands on his knees and faked gasping for breath. Jordan laughed at him, calling him a lightweight and pushing off the railing. 

“Did you see the monument outside the parking lot?” Tom asked him. Jordan shook his head. He hadn’t stopped to look at anything, he had just walked.

“Is that what took you so long?” 

“We were exploring!” Tom told him. “Anyways, it’s some weird anchor shape, with, like, a bird coming out of the top or whatever.”

“That’s an awful description.” Karl told him.

“It’s true! That’s what it looked like!” Tom insisted. “It’s dedicated to some submarine that sank off the coast of the island. There was a little radio symbol on the plaque next to it, and a station number. What was it, Karl?”

“Uh, 102.3 I think?” Karl shrugged. 

“Yeah, that sounds right.” Tom nodded. “Do you think we could get it from up here?” 

“I can try?” Jordan suggested. “I’m not sure, though. We might be too far away.” Jordan pulled the radio out of his pocket and switched it on, turning the dial to 102.3

Named after the Hawaiian God of the sea, the USS Kanaloa was launched on January 15th, 1941, and commissioned into service at the end of that year….

“Okay, so apparently we can get radio signals on the island,” Tom remarked. “I’ve never heard of this before.”

“Me neither,” Jordan breathed, listening to the recording. “It’s kind of sad, you know? It’s like those scenes in movies where sailors have to seal the ship shut and drown part of their crew to stop the rest of the ship from flooding, or whatever.”

“Wait, that happened?” Karl asked. 

“No,” Jordan said with a little laugh. “But the submarine did sink, and I don’t think anyone made it out alive.”

“Unfortunate,” Tom hummed, listening to the recording. He looked up at Jordan with a quizzical expression on his face. “Did they ever figure out how it sank?”

“As far as I know, no.” Jordan shrugged. “Though, it’s not really our problem now. It’s not like the horrible ghosts of the crew are going to somehow come back to life and haunt us for the rest of our days.”

“That’d be pretty dope, though,” Karl said. 

“Something like that, yeah.” The recording ended, and the radio played a little chime sound. It started over, and Jordan switched it off. 

“Okay, so before we go meet up with everyone, is there anything we need to know?” Karl asked. Jordan shrugged and looked to Tom, who was the island expert. Tom chewed on his lip for a moment before answering.

“So, the only person that lives here is some old man named Mia...Mia something. I don’t remember. It’s not important. This place was basically just a tourist trap, but it’s pretty abandoned now. Save for, of course, the yearly beach bash. That tradition was started in the fifties, I think. Recruits would sneak their dates over, and they’d drink themselves stupid. Kind of like what we’re about to do.”

“It’s also closed after dark,” Jordan mentioned. “The town shuts down before then, and everyone’s supposed to leave. I don’t know or understand why there’s ferries that come here after dark, so don’t ask. All I know is that we’re here to not think about anything, and relax for a while.” 

“Makes sense,” Karl nodded. 

“Okay, but also,” Tom said. “Before we hop this stupidly tall fence, I’ll tell you why we brought the radio.”

“Finally,” Jordan quipped. Tom shot him a humorless look.

“This is serious, friend of mine,” Tom told him. Jordan could hear the laughter in his voice. “There’s this weird cave system on the island. I don’t know much about it other than that when you stand at the mouth of the caves, you can sometimes pick up frequencies to stations that shouldn’t exist. Sometimes you’ll hear voices, but for the most part it’s just sounds.”

“Tom, there has to be an explanation for that,” Jordan said. “Maybe the rocks are able to conduct different kinds of frequencies from some far off places or something.”

“Or it’s aliens,” Karl snickered. Jordan laughed with him, and Tom gave them both a deadpan look. “Okay wait, wait. Who’s the old dude that lives on the island?”

“I don’t really know?” Tom scratched his head. “I don’t know his name, but the kids around here always just called him Mianite, or something like that. I think that’s what it was, though. His family owns the island, I’m pretty sure. He’s got a house on the other side of the island, somewhere. Never seen it, and I don’t care to. But their family, or maybe just him, since I know he’s pretty old, has lived here for seventy years or something like that.”

“So he’s kind of a local legend, then,” Jordan told Karl. He took a second to process the information and nodded slowly.

“I can’t imagine living in a place like this for seventy years,” Karl remarked.

“Thankfully, we don’t have to,” Tom nodded in agreement. “Now, if we’ve got all of that out of the way, let’s hop this fence already. Jordan, give me a leg up?”

“Yeah,” Jordan knelt, placing his foot firmly on the ground and leaning on the fence so that Tom could stand on him and swing his leg over the fence. Karl followed, albeit a little slower. Once both of them were over, Jordan gripped the top bar of the fence firmly between his hands and pulled himself up, swinging his leg over the fence with no help.

Karl whistled slowly, and Tom punched him in the gut. 

“There used to be another way to get over the fence,” Tom told them. “I don’t remember what it was, but they blocked it off, so it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“They?” Jordan asked, brushing his hands off on his pants.

“Officials, adults, the old sleaze-bag who lives here. Who knows?” Tom glanced down the path. It was a straight shot down to the beach, and once they started walking, it would only take them a minute or two to get down there.

Jordan could see the outline of a few figures in front of a roaring fire, but that was about it. It looked like that was all Tom could see as well. 

“Alright,” Tom said. “Fair warning, my friends can be pricks sometimes, but they have good hearts.”

“As long as they don’t try to kill us, I don’t care,” Karl laughed. Tom returned the gesture and glanced down the path again.

“Does anyone have anything else to say before we start down a path we can’t turn back on?” Tom asked.

“Well, when you say it like that, it sounds bad,” Jordan muttered. 

“Nothing?” Tom asked again. Jordan shook his head and looked to Karl, who just shrugged.

“Alright,” Tom rolled his shoulders. “Then let's go lose our minds on a beach.”


End file.
